Characterization of Bacterial Community Associated with Four Organs of the Yesso Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) by High-Throughput Sequencing

We used Illumina high-throughput sequencing of PCR-amplified V3-V4 16S rRNA gene regions to characterize bacterial communities associated with the adductor muscles, gills, gonads and intestines of the Yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) from waters around Zhangzidao, Dalian, China. Overall, 421,276 optimized reads were classified as 25 described bacterial phyla and 308 genera. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes, Bacteroidetes, Chlamydiae and Spirochaetae accounted for > 97% of the total reads in the four organs. The bacterial 16S rDNA sequences assigned to Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were abundant in the adductor muscles, gills and gonads; while reads from Tenericutes were dominant in the intestines, followed by those from Firmicutes, Chlamydiae, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, the dominant genera in the adductor muscles, gills and gonads appeared to be Bacillus, Enterococcus and Lactococcus, whereas Mycoplasma was dominant in the intestines. The relative abundances of Bacillus, Enterococcus, Lactococcus, Alkaliphilus, Raoultella, Paenibacillus and Oceanobacillus were significantly lower in the intestine than in the other three organs. Cluster analysis and principal coordinates analysis of the operational taxonomy units profile revealed significant differences in the bacterial community structure between the intestine and the other three organs. Taken together, these results suggest that scallops have intestine-specific bacterial communities and the adductor muscles, gills and gonads harbor similar communities. The difference in the bacterial community between organs may relate to unique habitats, surroundings, diet and their respective physiological functions.